Pictured: Massive fire consumes leaking oil rig in Timor Sea

A massive fire erupted on an oil rig that has been spilling waste into the Timor Sea as workers desperately tried to plug a leak.

Rig operator PTTEP Australasia said no one was injured as the fire raged on the West Atlas rig
and Montara wellhead platform yesterday.

Nonessential workers have been evacuated - but those left behind face a dangerous task as they battle the flames.

Out of control: A fire rages on the leaking rig, 155 miles out in the Timor Sea today

Meanwhile oil spewing from the rig - which has been leaking for ten weeks - has created an oil slick thousands of miles wide, is threatening wildlife in the area.

The oil slick from the rig, about 150 miles (250 kilometres) off
Australia's north-west coast, now stretches across thousands of miles
of remote ocean.

An estimated 400 barrels of oil a day have escaped from the hole since August 21.

Indonesia said last week that thousands
of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near its
coastline.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said today he was 'deeply disturbed' at the
latest turn of events on the rig.

'Do I think this is acceptable? No, I don't,' Rudd told Fairfax Radio
Network. 'Are we angry with this company? Yes we are. Are were trying
to do everything we can to get this under control? You betcha.'

Australia's government on Monday promised an investigation in the leak.

The rig is pictured yesterday just before it burst into flame

The blaze started when workers began pumping heavy mud into a leaking well casing. Officials had planned to pour more mud into the leak today in the hopes of removing the source of fuel from the fire, which was sending massive plumes of smoke into the sky.

But in a statement today, the company said it was still in the process of mixing 4,000 barrels of heavy mud, and would not be ready to pour it down the well until tomorrow.

'Presently there are many unanswered questions, including what caused the fire,' Martins told reporters in Perth.

'Our sole focus now is the safety of all personnel, bringing the fire under control and completing the well kill.'

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said today that once the spill is contained he would launch an official inquiry.

'Our requirement is to assess the cause of the accident and any lessons to be learnt, and that could lead to a change in the regulatory environment,' he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Ferguson later told reporters in Melbourne that if PTTEP was 'found to have been at fault with respect to any of their responsibilities, then any potential action will be appropriately considered at the time.'